Unbiased Reviews and Undercover Price Research on Local Services

What can go underfoot if you’re installing new flooring has changed significantly. While your grandparents might have just had the option of solid-oak strips, nailed in and finished onsite, you now can choose from myriad materials and finishes. Still, just like your older, wiser family members, you want a flooring company that provides solid advice and top-notch installation at reasonable prices.

Choosing a flooring type is the first step. Below is a rundown of the most popular choices. Also check Consumer Reports’ ratings of a sample of products offered by popular flooring brands.

Solid wood is also durable but not indestructible—most solid-wood flooring (except for the most expensive bamboo floors) dents easily and wears faster than other options. It can also be discolored by exposure to sunlight, and can warp and buckle if it’s laid in areas prone to moisture, like basements.

The biggest drawback to solid wood is price: Good-quality prefinished flooring costs from $8 to over $14 per square foot, installed. And exotic hardwoods can cost much more.

Solid-wood flooring is graded #2 Common, #1 Common, Select, or Clear. Clear means the fewest number of knots, wild grains, and color variations that are considered defects. With the higher grades, hue and grain are relatively closely matched from one piece to another. (Exotic hardwood species may use a different rating system.)

The grade of the flooring is relatively unimportant for medium or dark finishes because the finish will camouflage many defects. As a rule, pay more for select grades only if you want a very uniform floor with a natural finish under a clear sealer. Also consider whether “defects” like wild grains and color variation actually might be desirable, since they can lend the surface a unique look.

Some wood species are harder than others, meaning they’re more difficult to dent. Wood hardness is measured using the Janka Hardness Test, which is the amount of pounds of force (lbf) needed to embed half the diameter of a small steel ball into the wood. The Janka rating for red oak, for example, is around 1,260 lbf. The softest woods have ratings below 800 lbf, the hardest above 3,000 lbf. Although the hardest woods won’t dent easily, they are more prone to splitting, making them more difficult to install than softer ones.

When comparing products, be aware that grade and Janka rating say nothing about precisely how a product was manufactured, which will affect how well pieces fit together when installed and how long any factory-applied finish will last.

Engineered Wood

Engineered-wood flooring consists of several layers of wood—usually plywood—glued together and topped with a hardwood veneer. The veneer is finished and sealed at the factory and, as with prefinished solid-wood stuff, there are countless wood species and colors. Compared to the alternatives, engineered wood best mimics the real thing.

In general, better-quality engineered-wood flooring products have thicker veneer layers than lower-quality ones. Many high-quality veneers can even be refinished once or twice. If you can afford it, consider only flooring with veneers at least 1/8-inch thick.

For durability, engineered wood tends to dent easily and moisture, even from small spills, can cause permanent damage. Many factory-applied topcoats tend to scratch very easily; you’ll be dismayed by how much damage a small pebble stuck on the sole of your shoe can do, not to mention the carnage produced by kids’ Hot Wheels and dogs’ nails.

But at $5 to $10 per square foot installed, engineered-wood flooring usually costs considerably less than solid wood.

Laminates

Made of dense fiberboard topped with a photo image protected by clear plastic, laminates can mimic nearly any type of flooring. But many laminate products use a repetitive pattern that’s a giveaway they aren’t really wood.

Because they resist scratching, denting, and discoloration from sunlight better than other flooring, the best laminates offer great durability. But if you do have an accident, it will be hard to fix. Small nicks and scratches can be hidden using touchup pens, but the only cure for bigger dings is new floors.

What gives laminates an advantage is price: Good-quality flooring runs $4 to $7 per square foot, including installation.

The protective layers on laminates are classified by Abrasion Class (AC) from one to five, with a higher number representing a better wear grade. AC1 is for light, infrequent traffic; AC5 is for commercial spaces. Since they’re so durable, AC2 and AC3 laminates are probably adequate for most homes.

Vinyl

When you walk across the floor of a supermarket, school, or hospital, you’re likely treading on vinyl. It can be manufactured with a top layer that includes a wood grain design. Since it is plastic, vinyl isn’t affected by moisture, isn’t easily discolored by sunlight, and is the easiest to clean of all the flooring options.

Vinyl flooring comes in rolls, tiles, and planks or strips cut to look like wood. In addition to durability, vinyl’s main selling point is price: Even the highest-quality varieties are relatively inexpensive, from $2 to $6 per square foot, installed. But, unfortunately, even the best vinyl products look like, well, vinyl.

Linoleum

Often confused with vinyl, most linoleum is made from natural products—such as linseed oil from flax, wood powder, limestone, and resins—backed with jute. It is more eco-friendly than most other flooring options—and it is durable, easy to clean, and not easily damaged by moisture.

Like vinyl, linoleum comes in rolls, tiles, and planks or strips cut to look like wooden pieces. In general, thicker products are of higher quality. Most linoleum products are inexpensive, from $4 to $8 per square foot, including installation. But the best-quality linoleum products, which mimic wood, are expensive, $9 or more per square foot installed.

Other Options

Other options include bamboo and cork, which are renewable resources that offer distinctive looks.

Installation Considerations

Some types of flooring are inappropriate for certain rooms. For example, solid-wood flooring isn’t a good choice for basements or areas where spills might frequently occur. The condition of the subfloor might also affect your choice of material. In this respect, solid-wood and good-quality engineered-wood flooring surpass other materials in that the subfloor doesn’t have to be perfect because planks are strong enough to bridge minor problems. A subfloor of 1/2-inch plywood is usually sufficient for solid- and engineered-wood installation.

For flooring materials other than solid- and engineered-wood, an underlayment is necessary since these thinner planks or slats aren’t strong enough to bridge sags or otherwise beef up a weak subfloor: They’re decorative, not structural. Thicker pads made of high-density foam or rubber greatly reduce sound transmission; the ultimate silencer is cork.

Discuss with suppliers and installers—and include in any contract—how subfloors will be prepped and what underlayment will be used.

While solid-wood flooring is almost always installed with an angle nailing machine, other flooring types can be glued down. This usually requires carefully prepping the subfloor by scraping and leveling it to an almost perfectly flat surface. The planks are then fitted together and glued to the subfloor.

Another installation method is a “floating floor.” This means an underlayment is installed and the planks are locked together on top via a snap-and-click system.

Finish Options

Once you’ve settled on a type of flooring, you’ll have to decide what you want it to look like. Do you want a natural light finish, or a dark mahogany or walnut finish? Even within relatively narrow finish choices, there will be several options.

For solid- or engineered-wood flooring, you’ll also have to pick a wood species. You’ll find a great number of choices, each at varying price points. Before spending a lot more for exotic woods, compare their finished looks with those of more common, less expensive options. Often an expensive exotic hardwood doesn’t appear very different than a cheaper species stained in certain colors.

Narrow down the forest of choices by getting samples—lots of them—and taking them home. Compare them in both daylight and after dark. You’ll be surprised how different materials and finishes look in your home compared to under industrial store lighting.

Selecting a Supplier and Installer—and Getting Good Prices

You want to buy from a supplier that can provide good advice, offers a wide variety of products, performs quality installation work, keeps its promises, promptly makes things right if things go wrong—and charges a good price.

By checking out reviews of flooring companies we've collected from area consumers, you’ll see that many area flooring companies consistently fail to satisfy their customers. What’s disturbing is that so many of the negative comments are related to workmanship—floors that buckled, uneven and wide gaps between planks, incorrect stains—and other problems that could have been avoided had workers been more diligent or had proper supervision. Often raters were dismayed when they had trouble getting obvious errors resolved.

Once you’ve selected a product (or narrowed down the choices), contact top-rated suppliers for prices. If your job is straightforward, you can shop by email and phone, which our undercover shoppers did for a sample of local independents and major chains. But Empire Today repeatedly told our shoppers it will not provide prices without sending a rep to the home.

When collecting prices, specify the exact product to be supplied, including brand, model number, grade, and finish. Include a description of the work areas, including measurements. Specify whether existing baseboards and shoe molding will be replaced or reused, and describe how any transitions (such as doorways) should be covered. Because some companies quote low per-square-foot charges but then gouge customers for necessary finish work, ask companies to total their prices for the entire job. Get all details in writing.

The table below illustrates how widely prices vary. Our undercover shoppers asked for stores’ prices to supply and install two different models of solid-wood flooring and three models of engineered-wood flooring for a 432-sq. ft. room.

It’s difficult to compare prices at many of the big chains with other stores. Empire Today, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Lumber Liquidators mostly sell products that are supplied exclusively to them by the manufacturers. This “private labeling” is designed to prevent you from comparing prices.

Since we wouldn’t otherwise have been able to compare pricing at the big chains, we report prices for flooring products that were, in our judgment, the closest equivalent products offered.

As you can see, you can save a lot with a little shopping around. For the Mullican Muirfield solid-wood flooring, prices quoted ranged from $3,489 to more than $8,000; using the Shaw Lakeside engineered-wood flooring, prices ranged from $3,910 to more than $8,000.

Although we were unable directly to compare prices for products sold by Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Lumber Liquidators, it’s worth noting that for what we considered comparable products, Home Depot’s and Lumber Liquidators’ prices were among the lowest we could find. Lowe’s prices were higher than the other two chains, but were nonetheless still lower than average.

Prices to Supply and Install Wood Flooring for a 432-sq. ft. Room1

Mullican Muirfield
solid wood, 3/4" thick, 21/4" wide planks

Shaw
Family Affair
#SA069
solid wood, 3/4" thick, 21/4" wide planks

Mirage
Natural #14318N
engineered wood, 3/8" thick, 5" wide planks

Shaw
Hawkins #SW488
engineered wood, 3/8" thick, 5" wide planks

Shaw
Lakeside #SW491
engineered wood, 1/2" thick, 5" wide planks

Checkbook's price comparison score
($100 = average)2

Erick Wood Floors, Palos Heights, 708-597-6647

$3,489

$3,299

$5,341

$3,109

$3,916

$70

Villano Interiors, Park Ridge, 847-437-3600

$3,814

$3,698

$3,230

$3,910

$74

Dary Carpets & Floors, Streamwood, 630-289-5000

$4,049-
$4,089

$3,871-
$3,911

$4,334-
$4,374

$84

Carpet One Floor Decor, Lindenhurst, 847-265-7493

$6,829

$4,564

$3,955

$88

Douglas Coleman Home Solutions, North Aurora, 630-897-9600

$4,584

$4,636

$8,182

$3,879

$4,714

$93

Flooropedics, Glen Ellyn, 630-858-8020

$4,913

$7,273

$95

Lewis Floor & Home, Northbrook, 847-835-2400

$4,900

$4,700

$5,200

$101

Peter Flooring, Chicago, 773-481-2244

$5,126

$5,078

$7,372

$4,720

$5,652

$102

Dallia Floor & Wall, Skokie, 847-677-1774

$5,565

$7,739

$104

Scharm Floor Covering, Des Plaines, 847-298-8233

$6,238

$5,056

$8,032

$4,406

$5,229

$105

Desitter Carpet and Flooring, La Grange, 630-653-5200

$4,600

$6,000

$107

Exploring Flooring, Warrenville, 630-393-2020

$5,564

$5,533

$8,531

$5,134

$5,621

$111

Finishes Carpet & Interiors, Naperville, 630-416-2020

$6,515

$8,620

$6,515

$125

Ace Flooring, Park Ridge, 847-696-2800

$6,880

$9,180

$126

Home Carpet One, Chicago, 773-935-9314

$10,500

$7,600

$8,200

$153

Rexx Rug & Linoleum, Chicago, 773-281-8800

$8,300-
$9,300

$6,650-
$7,650

$7,600-
$8,600

$158

Floor Covering Associates, Naperville, 630-369-8111

$12,925

$172

Prices Quoted by National Chains for Comparable Products
These retailers sell flooring products that are not available at other stores. The prices reported below are those quoted by stores for available products we determined were the closest substitutes to the brands and models of flooring we requested from other local retailers.

Home Depot

$4,365

$4,365

$3,689

$3,689

$3,985

$76

Lumber Liquidators

$4,666

$4,666

$3,832

$3,832

$4,155

$80

Lowe’s

$4,550-
$5,500

$4,550-
$5,500

$4,687

$4,687

$4,750

$91

1 Prices were quoted to Checkbook’s undercover shoppers to supply and install flooring for an 18' x 24' rectangular room (432 square feet), and include take-up and removal of carpeting, installation of two transition strips, and installation of 76 feet of shoe molding. Companies were given additional detailed specifications and instructions.2 For each company, this score is intended to suggest the price a customer might expect to pay for flooring and installation that would cost $100 at the “average” company. A score of $110 means prices are about 10 percent above average; a score of $90 about 10 percent below average.